Divine Action
The message of the Christian
gospel is that God has done so much already to remedy our individual
situation and that more is yet to come! But when I tell those to
whom I speak of the message of personal salvation from our sins by
the willing sacrifice of Christ,
they say, “Yes, that’s all very well but it isn’t that that I’m
thinking about. It’s all the unhappiness and unrest in the world,
the inability of man to discover the secret of peace and harmony
amongst the nations of the world. Why doesn’t God, if He’s
listening, do something about that!” Professor CS Lewis was right
when he wrote nearly 70 years ago: “Man has tried to invent some
sort of happiness for himself outside God, apart from God. And out
of all that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human
history –money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes,
empires, slavery – the long terrible story of man trying to find
something other than God which will make him happy”.
Christadelphians believe that
two things are inextricably linked together:
-
personal salvation from our
flawed nature, and
-
the consequent serious
problems of mankind as a whole.
These two things are brought
into focus together and find their solution in the work of the
greatest man ever to live – Jesus Christ – and by no one else!
Coming World Ruler
The world was designed to be
God- centred and there will come a time when man with his empty
philosophies has to answer for choosing to forget that. Man rejects
the whole idea of Jesus Christ as a judge. No one likes Jesus when
he says that this way is wrong and this other way is right. The
Bible teaches us that human nature is indeed flawed and that only
the God of heaven can, through the redeeming work of His Son, put
that right and hence put the world to rights. But this cannot be by
any democratic process. Democracy has been tried and has failed. It
always results in people who are unable to rule themselves and
therefore are incapable of ruling others.
True followers of Jesus Christ
are not democrats at heart. Putting the world to rights is a matter
of divine intervention in the political affairs of mankind, not of
man striving after the wind. Just look at some of the prophecies
about Jesus Christ from the Old Testament which tell us what he is
destined to do when he returns as king:
I will declare the decree:
The LORD has said to me, ‘You are my Son, Today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and
the ends of the earth for your possession. You shall break them with
a rod of iron; you shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s
vessel’” Now therefore, be wise, O kings; be instructed, you judges
of the earth”
(Psalm 2:7-10).
“
There shall come forth a Rod
from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and
understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of
knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. His delight is in the fear of
the LORD, and he shall not judge by the sight of his eyes, nor
decide by the hearing of his ears; but with righteousness he shall
judge the poor, and
decide with equity for the meek of the earth. He shall strike the
earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he
shall slay the wicked” (Isaiah 11:1-4). (See also Daniel 7:13-14
and Zechariah 14:4,7-9).
God’s Unfinished Business
Some would discard such militant
views of the Lord Jesus saying that the picture of him presented by
the New Testament is quite different. But just research these
passages in the NewTestament:
The whole Bible makes it clear
that the Creator, the God of Israel, is to powerfully and
dramatically intervene in the political affairs of mankind in the
person of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is to return to this
earth to rule in righteousness. When he came last time, over 2000
years ago, he came as a sacrifice, to resolve the problem of the
sinfulness of mankind just as the prophets said he would (see Psalm
22:7,8, 13-18 and Isaiah 53:3-5).
Peacemaker
Jesus, by his outstanding
sacrifice, removed that apparently insurmountable barrier of sin and
brought the possibility of peace of mind to individual men and
women, so that we can come to God. It is through the grace and mercy
of God that my sins can be forgiven. When I have confessed and
disowned them, only then can I be freed from the shackles of sin and
death. And what is true for me is true for all of us. Once we have
peace with God through the saving work of Jesus the vista really
opens up for us all. We can look forward to the return of the Lord
Jesus Christ in power and great glory. After detailing dreadful
things that were to happen on earth – many of which we have now
experienced – Jesus said this:
"... Then they will see the
Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when
these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads,
because your redemption draws near” (Luke 21:27-28).
Christadelphian Politics
These are my politics and the
outcome is absolutely certain. It doesn’t depend on the decisions of
human governments, however appointed. For this is what the prophets
of God promise:
Then justice will dwell in
the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. The
work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of
righteousness, quietness and assurance forever”
(Isaiah
32:16,17).
I cannot give my allegiance to
any other political view. My religion and my politics are one and
the same. The realisation of my hopes does not depend upon a General
Election. Come what may, Jesus Christ will come. Whatever the UN
decides, he will come. Whatever the European Community imposes, he
will come. Whatever you personally decide about him, he will come.
For the Scripture stands sure:
The LORD shall be King over
all the earth. In that day it shall be – 'the
LORD is one, and his name one”
(Zechariah 14:9).
Why don’t you join all those who
share the splendid hope of being a part of that glorious multitude
who will welcome Jesus Christ as King when he comes to reign over
the world from Jerusalem? This is the ultimate choice: will you put
your trust and confidence in God or man? We urge you to choose to
follow the ways of God.
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